


Forged in Ice

by CRosecrans



Series: The Life and Times of Daniel Ulysses Barrow [1]
Category: Doctor Who (AU)
Genre: Adult Content, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Drama & Romance, F/M, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Murder
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-05
Updated: 2017-09-05
Packaged: 2018-12-24 02:36:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12003198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CRosecrans/pseuds/CRosecrans
Summary: Book two of the trilogy:  The Life and Times of Daniel Ulysses BarrowThe meta-crisis Doctor, Daniel Ulysses Barrow is a man with a mysterious past. Created in space, bonded to a woman who does not want him, he is abandoned by the man responsible for his creation. Stranded on a planet, not his own, through circumstances beyond anyone’s imagination, he is condemned to travel the slow path amongst humans, instead of the stars. Slowly he finds a love of his own, builds a life, and a home, but who will be there to hold his hand when the slow path takes a twist no one foresees?





	Forged in Ice

**Author's Note:**

> We continue Daniel's story after a devastating regeneration rips a hole in the fabric of space

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I do wish I knew how to post photos to the chapters and a book cover on this site

 

Jake Simmonds liked winter holidays, especially when he could afford gifts for his friends, pay bills and keep the heat on in his flat. This year, he'd managed it all. He and Nick had even bought a tree for Nollaig, and decorated it over glasses of wine. The fun they'd had decorating, led to more fun, later on, leaving him pleasantly sore and despite the lack of family in their lives, content with his life. As he spent the day at Torchwood, Nick was picking up the items needed for dinner on the day. It would be just the two of them, cuddled on the sofa watching a film or two, but First Day was another thing. They had planned the party of all parties to top a week of parties. Howie was even coming up from London after Daniel's gig. It wasn't a bad way to spend their first holiday season in Scotland. It would be better if he could, at least, introduce Nick to his brothers, and sister, but that would never happen.

Jake pushed the unhappy, intrusive thought away, and picked up his pace to his office. The quicker he finished the paperwork, the quicker he'd be out of here for the next three days. Please, he thought, just keep the aliens quiet. This time a year ago, he was trudging through a snowstorm in Europe, chasing a thief who'd stolen an energy weapon off a dead alien. But not this year. This year, no aliens were terrorising the citizenry, no alien artefacts were popping up in the city's pawn shops, and best of all, Daniel's commitment ceremony was just two days away. Thus far, the week met all of Jake's holiday expectations. He whistled the tune to I want an Alien for Christmas, on his way first to the control room to check the monitors and then his office to sign off the monthly reports; a boring, yet necessary part of the job. Daniel had taught him that. He shifted his tune to something a little less alien oriented song as he turned the rounded the corner the control room. His good mood ended with a spurt of expletives erupted in the control room. 

"Find Jake, now," Harry yelled at the new kid.

"God, I knew it was too good to be true," Jake muttered as he trotted into the large computer room "I'm here, what's wrong?" Jake said when he reached the monitor holding Harry's interest.

"You know the equipment we put up at Daniel's house?" Harry snapped, forcefully pushing his office chair to the next station.

"Yeah." Jake glanced at the bizarre pattern on the scope and followed Harry.

"The energy readings are off the scope -- inside the house. Son of a bitch." Harry cursed at the screen displaying a live feed from the CCTV camera Daniel had installed in his office. "What the bloody hell is that?"

Both men and a younger tech stared open-mouthed at the swirls of golden energy pouring from the corner housing Daniel's precious bit of coral. The energy bounced and rolled around the room, sparking off everything electrical. Containers and monitor screens on his lab counter exploded, sending shards of glass flying across the room. The windows blew out. The fire sparked off the computer catching papers on fire. Transfixed, they watched a vortex of energy fuelled flames engulf his hand carved desk, spread across the floor and up the walls, destroying his precious murals in its path. It felt like an eternity before the fire suppression system kicked in, spraying foam from the ceiling. The foam took on an eerie glow as the arc of golden energy continued to shoot across the room, arced then shot up to the camera, sending the monitor black.

Without hesitation, Jake grabbed his mobile, hit speed dial with his left hand, while hitting the alarm notifying every available agent in the building to head for the assignment room. "Daniel's not answering," he declared. "Damn, what did they do, start the party without us?" he cursed when Pete failed to answer.

"Neal," he ordered the young tech with Harry, "Send these readings to London. Harry, come with me." Jake ran for the lift, punching Rose's number as he went.

"Rose," he said, glad someone finally answered. "Where's Daniel? I need him now!"

"He can't come," Rose answered, and then disconnected.

"Something went really, really wrong in London," Jake said to Harry as he hit redial.

~~

Blood. There was so much of it smeared across the staircase, across Marcus; it seemed someone had thrown a bucket of the stuff across the lower half of the Tyler's beautiful staircase. Nora pulled away from the maid and stood frozen on the landing, listening to the screams of her son, whilst watching Daniel's body jerk off the floor then collapse unmoving. They'd ripped his beautiful new jumper up the middle, exposing his unmoving chest. 

Hands. They had such busy hands. 

She watched a pair apply pads and paddles. They pressed buttons and he jerked up and dropped back to the floor. And then -- they did it again. This was not real. She was asleep, caught in a nightmare that wouldn't stop. She felt arms encircle her, whispering support, but her eyes never left the bottom of the stairs. A man nodded and then came racing up the steps toward her. It took several seconds to process that it was Marcus. She's met him before, talked to him before. She wanted to hit him.

"You lied to me," she snarled when Marcus reached the step below her.

"Nora," a voice chided.

She glared at the source and turned back to Marcus. "You told me he was okay and now he's ...." She sobbed, unable to put a voice to that word.

Marcus shook his head. "He's not dead, I know that's what you think, but he's not. His heart stopped, but it's back. Nora, I swear, there was no sign anything was wrong. Daniel went over his scans with a fine toothed comb. I don't know what happened, but right now I need you to focus. You are his medical power of attorney now. If his heart stops again; what do you want me to do?"

Nora pushed away from her mother and met Marcus' eyes with a cold disbelief. "What? What do I. Want you to do?" Her hand flew out and slapped him, knocking him back a step. More hands grabbed her. "You stupid, stupid man. You do whatever it takes to save my Daniel's life!" She said. She straightened. "I am coming with you to make sure you do!"

"You can't." His answer came so softly it was little more than a whisper. "I have a full re-suss team on board, so there is no room. Pete and Jackie will bring you right behind. I am not letting that skinny git die, I promise." He turned to join his team.

Nora watched the medics load Daniel on a stretcher, connect the tube in his nose to a small respirator, block his head to prevent it from moving, and then cover him with a foil blanket. She took three steps down the staircase to watch the love of her life disappear through the door, Rose walked up to meet her with tears silently sliding down her face. Nora's eyes narrowed."You will tell me what Daniel is and when he is well, I am taking him home. After that, I never want to see you or this house again."

She stepped past Rose and started down to Pete ignoring the blood smeared across his clothes. "Get me to Torchwood," she ordered. "Mother," she said without glancing back, he looked "Take care of Robbie; tell him I've gone with Dad to hospital." She stepped over the mess left by the medics, swallowing a sob at Daniel's blood and mess, and grabbed a coat from the butler. Stunned, Rose stood on the staircase. 'Nora knows. She can't possibly know, but she knows.' 

"We should go, Mum," she said flatly as she started back down the stairs.

 

They drove through the night, four women locked in silence as leafless trees flew past in a blur. Rose kept her hands firmly on the steering wheel watching the snow dance in the beams of the headlights. At near eighty, it would only take a few minutes to reach the complex. The image of Daniel contorting against her father and Marcus competed with the image implanted in her head by Jake's call. She didn't need the CCTV footage to know regeneration energy created both disasters. She had no idea how any of this was possible. The Doctor had said the hybrid -- Daniel could never regenerate, so how could the office --

"Rose!" Jackie screeched as a stray dog darted across the road.

Rose slammed on the SUV's brakes, sending the car skidding across the road. Ignoring the squeals of her passengers, she artfully brought the car back to the centre of the lane. "Sorry, sorry," she apologised, then resumed her speed.

"We need to get there in one piece, sweethear'," Jackie fussed. "Are we all okay?" Jackie looked at the two women in the back.

"I ride with Fergus," Mrs McGregor stammered, flashing a tight smile at Addie when the woman gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.

"Rose, what did Jake want?" Jackie asked softly.

"Nothing, Mum. I just need to check something when we get there. Can you get everyone to the infirmary?"

"Why isn't Daniel in hospital? I mean, he looked awful. How can a little infirmary take care of him?" Mrs McGregor asked.

Jackie looked over the seat at the nervous woman. "It's just what we call it, but Torchwood has its own medical unit. The care equals what the president would get. In fact, one of our doctors treated President Jones last year, when she had her heart attack, remember? What with Marcus there, Daniel will get the best care on this planet."

"I don't understand this, they were so happy, so much planned. She laughed." Mrs McGregor suddenly sobbed. "For the first time in years, my bairn laughed. She called to tell us she met th' strangest, loveliest man. She found someone to watch horror films with her. He encouraged her to grow her business. Robbie talks non-stop aboot how he has a real da' like the other we'ans at school. Daniel cannae die."

"Nobody is dyin', especially Daniel," Rose declared. Her foot pressed against the gas pedal, ignoring the digital numbers going up. She had driven the road at far greater speeds. Traffic patrol always ignored the transponder code for a Torchwood SUV. Having Peter Tyler as a dad and boss definitely had perks, one of which included no one questioning why she drove like a maniac. The car travelled another mile before Rose eased off the gas, flipped the signal and slowed to make the turn into the Torchwood/Vitex complex. The guards didn't bother to stop her as she drove to the underground car park. She drove into the cavernous parking structure and stopped next to the loading platform.

Only Addie noticed her nervous smile. "Mum, take them to the Infirmary; I need to go to the lab," she said. She jumped out, running, disappearing into the lift before Jackie could get everyone half way up the steps. With Mrs McGregor between them, she and Addie shepherded the Scottish woman to the lift for the seven-floor ride to the medical unit. When the lift door slid open, the pensive woman stepped out, looked around and straightened. The uncertainty fled, replaced with the same determination to care for her child, as Jackie and Addie had for Rose and Daniel. Jackie couldn't help but smile at the change in the woman's demeanour.

"Come on, the waiting area is this way." Jackie pointed to the right and began walking.

"You've done this before -- with the people who work for Torchwood?"

"Yeah -- with Rose too. It's Daniel's third trip; he keeps this up, we'll have to name a wing for him," Jackie quipped.

"It's so quiet. Hospitals are so busy, but this place is quiet."

"Well, that's good innit; means all the staff will be with our boy. Right, Adela?"

"Ja, Miss Jackie," she answered, distracted.

"He'll be alright, Adela; he will," Jackie said, reaching for the frightened woman's hand, ashamed she'd forgotten how much she loved Daniel.

"Ja, he will," she said, squeezing Jackie's hand back.

The three women moved faster, their boots, and heavy breathing providing the only sounds in the dimly lit hallway. Halfway down the corridor, Jackie turned left and walked unerringly to the glass doors of the medical unit. For a moment they stopped and drew a collective breath, preparing for whatever lay beyond.

They found Nora pacing, and Pete, still in blood-stained clothes, his mobile stuck to his ear, talking in a hushed, terse conversation. She had a feeling Rose was calling from the lab. She'd learned all the code for not discussing things in front of civilians. The way Rose had left them, she knew something besides Daniel added to the misery that had turned this night into a nightmare. Jackie turned to Nora, just as the young woman stopped her pacing long enough to realise that her mother had walked in.

"Mum, what are you doing here? I asked you to stay with Robbie," Nora snapped.

In the midst of shedding her coat, Mrs McGregor rolled her eyes."I know you're pure upset, Luv, but you watch yer tone. Yer da' and Mr Harris stayed with the wee jimmies. They need men to show them how to be, 'n' you lassie... you need me." Mrs McGregor answered, holding out her arms. The fury washed out of Nora. She hesitated and then rushed into her mother's arms.

"Twenty-seven minutes," she sobbed against the woman's chest. "They've had Daniel in there for twenty-seven minutes and no one has said a thing."

"But that's good, innit? If they haven't come out here, that means they're still working on him." Her mother rubbed her back. "You'll see, everything will be alright."

"I'll make us a pot of tea, yeah?" Jackie offered. "A nice cuppa always helps. That's what we do when things are hard, we fix tea," she said more to herself while moving to a cabinet, pulling out an electric kettle and quickly filling it with water. Adela joined her, to find cups and tea bags.

"Rose will be down in a minute," Pete offered when he joined his wife. "There's trouble at ..." he whispered, glancing first at Nora's back, making sure she was distracted. "At his house."

"Right." Jackie flashed a knowing smile. "Nora, do you take it white or dark?"

"Dark is fine, where's Rose? I need to talk to her." She forced firmness back in her voice.

Jackie admired the young woman. For some reason, they'd assumed her emotionally fragile. Jackie had no idea why, and after the slap that she'd given Marcus and her watching now, Jackie knew they could stuff that theory where the sun didn't shine. She might look like a delicate piece of porcelain, but the woman in front of them was as tough as they came. "She had to go to the lab," Jackie answered.

"Of course, she did. This place and her damn --" she hesitated, looking at her mother, "job are more important than Daniel."

"Sweethear', don't say that about my Rose. She cares for Daniel; she just needed to check something. It's not like she can do anything here. Rose is like him, has to stay busy when she's upset."

Nora shifted her gaze to the cups Jackie was fixing. "Twenty-eight minutes."

"Hi, everyone." Jackie and Pete both smiled at the sight of the short woman walking in. She still looked as if she was still seeing patients.

"Katie." Pete nodded. "Ladies, this is Katie Hettinger."

"Hettinger?" Nora started. "You're the psychiatrist that saw him today. What did you do to Daniel?" 

The way she snarled the words like an epithet forced them all a half step back.

"I am that psychiatrist," she replied with a steady smile, "And you must be Nora. You look and sound just as Daniel described. I know right now, you are angry and terrified, but I need you to come with me."

"I'll come with her," Mrs McGregor offered.

"I'm sorry, no. Pete and I need to see her alone," the little woman said, taking Nora by the elbow. "We'll be back shortly. Pete?"

"Yeah, I'm coming. Stay here, Jax." Before anyone could protest, the three were gone.

"Mr Tyler?" Nora asked when she was out of sight her mother and Addie, "is he?"

"No," Katie answered firmly.

Nora tensed when they guided her to the consultation room inhabited by one person: Rose. The blonde woman chewed her upper lip but she strode forward with a determined demeanour that added to the fire of rage burning through every cell of her body. Her gaze shifted to the sunglasses in Rose's hand. "I don't think you'll need those in here."

Rose focused on her father. "Marcus called; he's on his way."

"Nora, you need to listen to Rose," Pete said as he closed the door. "I promise, it's very important."

Rose waited until Nora sat down. "First, I need you to answer a question. On the stairs, you said: what is he -- not who -- he is'. Why did you say what?"

Nora's eyebrows pinched in confusion. "Excuse me?"

"Nora, I know you're angry, and you're scared, but this is important. Why did you use that word?" Rose pleaded.

"A few weeks ago, Daniel was ranting about a school administrator being unfair to his students. For the tiniest second, his eyes flashed. I thought it was just the sun, but tonight. Before he --" she inhaled sharply. "They did it again, a flash of gold and then ... his beautiful eyes rolled up. And he ...." Nora looked away, refusing to let the tears come.

"Please. Put these on," Rose asked

Nora stared, not comprehending the request. She watched Pete's fingers wrap around the glasses then press them her hands, "Put them on, Nora," he said quietly.

She swallowed. He smiled one of those, 'the life you know is over,' smiles whilst nodding encouragement. Nora's expression hardened. She slipped them on, and just as quickly, ripped them off. "What the bloody hell is this?" she stammered.

"When I was nineteen, I worked in a shop called Hendrick's in London. I met a man who grabbed my hand, and asked my name, then he said, 'nice to meet you, Rose Tyler, run for your life'. To make a long story short, I grabbed his hand and ran. That moment changed my life forever. It started my mum and me on an adventure that is still going on today. That man's name was the Doctor. He looked human, sounded northern and came from an entirely different planet called Gallifrey. That planet died in a war, leaving him the last of his kind." Rose stopped waiting for Nora to process even a little of what she said. When she said nothing, Rose continued. "A year after; my Doctor died. Sort of, but not really. I don't actually remember what happened because I was unconscious. When I came to, my Doctor was beginning a process called regeneration."

Nora blinked. There was that word; Daniel used that word about the house. She shifted in her seat, and then glanced at the door. She wanted to run, to find Daniel and get him away from this bunch of nutters. She must have telegraphed the wish somehow because Pete placed a steadying hand on her shoulder. Rose's mouth kept working; words kept coming.

"He told me it was a daft old process, never sure how it would turn out, and then he lurched. His hands started to glow and then golden energy poured from every cell, converting him into an entirely new man. The first words out of his mouth were -- new teeth." Rose chortled at the memory, but her smile faded. "I know, sounds barmy, doesn't it? Right now, you're thinking: I've gone mental. Put the glasses back on and look at Dad and Katherine."

"She looks fine; he's all ...." Nora whispered.

"Now, put your hands together." She demonstrated, pressing her own palms together. When Nora complied, she continued, "When you press your hands together, no matter how hard, you still have gaps. The same thing happens with planets. There are parallel universes pressed next to each other, separated by something called the Void. The Doctor and I fell through a rip in the barrier on the night of the Troubles. A year later, the Cybermen found a way through to our side of that veil -- what we call Universe Prime."

"What does any of this have to do with Daniel?"

"I'm getting there. Really, I am. Cybermen invaded my London. Their sudden disappearance from this planet combined with severe global warming forced Pete to send a squad through the void to find the Doctor. They snagged him from the middle of that battle and pulled him into this universe. My mum and I were there. We wound up in a fight to survive. They came back; he came back to rescue me and save that planet. and Pete brought me and my mum here. What you see floating around me is called void stuff, sort of background radiation from coming through that void. Katherine doesn't show it because she's never been through the void. Technically speaking, my mum and I are just as much an alien here as Daniel."

This whole conversation made no sense. Nora's head felt as if it would explode, but Rose just pushed on. "Over the years, I made transmat jump after transmat jump trying to find my Doctor and when I did, it was just in time to see him shot down in front of me. He started to regenerate again but he stopped. We all wound up taken prisoners while the enemy tried to destroy his ship."

Nora finally gasped. "The TARDIS," she huffed.

"The TARDIS," Rose confirmed. "I don't know how, but I do know that the Doctor's regenerative energy, combined with the ship's energy, flowed through his companion, Donna and a container containing the Doctor's biological material, and it all produced Daniel. I imagine what went on, looked a lot like this." She pulled her phone out and showed her a video of what had occurred in Daniel's office.

Nora stared, awestruck, at the screen, watching bolts of gold energy tear through Daniel's office. She could feel Katie's hand on her shoulders. "This isn't real, it just isn't."

"Unfortunately," the psychiatrist said, "it is. It's why we wanted to talk to you alone."

Nora's eyes narrowed; they glistened with unshed tears. "You lied. That day in the train station, you lied. You've all lied. Does Don know any of this?" she snarled.

"No, he doesn't and yes, we lied. Not to fool you, but to protect him. Daniel, by no measure, should exist. There are people out there who would love to dissect him. He needed a life, so Dad created one. Torchwood went to great lengths to develop an identity allowing him to hide in plain sight. Make no mistake, his existence is top secret."

Rose dropped to her knees in front of Nora. "The Doctor expected Daniel and me to just swan off, but we didn't work out. We never expected him to go off to Scotland, and he certainly never expected to fall in love with you. He tried to tell you who and what he was, but he'd lost so much; he couldn't find the words."

Nora's eyes stayed fixed on her hands."His pictures," she half sobbed."He drew the pictures and never stopped Robbie from calling him, spaceman."

"Nora," Pete said. "This is important. When Daniel came to London the weekend you moved in, he changed his paperwork: his will, his power of attorney, his accounts are all now under your control. We understand if you want to walk away if this is too much, but ...."

Nora's eyes snapped to Pete. "You are no different than the Filsons; yer all are abusers. You lie, you manipulate people and then you threaten. What? You disappear my family to protect your secrets?"

"I didn't mean--" he stuttered.

Before she could speak, Marcus walked in the room. "Did you tell her?" he asked Pete

"Yeah," Rose answered, standing up.

"And?" he asked Pete.

Nora rose to face Marcus and glanced at the others with barely controlled hatred. "I am not a helpless child; you will speak to me. That -- man, regardless of where he came from, is my life. Tell me."

Marcus let out a deep breath and nodded. "His injuries, are ... serious. Let me show you the scans." He led her to a view screen. "First of all, Daniel's brain functions differently from ours. Where we use tops, fifteen, he uses ninety-five percent. It's what makes him so superb at astrophysics, climatology and -- teaching, and it's what will aid his recovery. It's also why he has a tendency toward getting a bit --"

"Depressed?" Nora asked.

"Yes and when you add all the crap he's gone through it's amazing he functions at all. That he does, is attributed to his unique physiology and mental strength. His cells contain a form of energy that Rose calls artron. It fuels healing, and in the past when he's been injured, it helped."

Nora twisted the edge of her jumper in her hands. "But?"

"But -- it also contributes to his seizures. We have a baseline on his normal levels and since this incident, it has dropped way off. I don't know what that means." "What about his injuries, his heart?" "His heart appears undamaged but his injuries are significant. He has several large bruises from hitting the bannister and then pitching down the stairs. He cracked a couple of ribs and bruised his lungs in the process. His leg is fractured just above the ankle and will require surgery. That brings us to what concerns me the most. Daniel struck his head on the risers at least twice before Pete and I got to him. He hit hard enough to fracture his skull. It's going to require immediate surgery.

"Why? Ian had a skull fracture: they just told him to rest and no football 'till the x-ray came back normal."

"That is the treatment for a simple fracture, but Daniel is bleeding into his brain; it's called a subdural haematoma. I have administered medications to stop further seizures and reduce swelling. We've applied a cryogenic wrap to his head which acts to reduce his brain's need for oxygen. He came around for a minute very agitated, so to prevent him from hurting himself, I have put him in a drug induced coma. We will keep him there for at least twenty-fours. He is on a respirator controlling his breathing. Any questions so far?"

Numb from information overload, she nodded and muttered, "Yeah. When he wakes up?" Her voice cracked with the rest of the question, "what are his chances of being normal?"

Marcus turned to look at her, trying to sound as positive as possible. "If he were completely human, I'd say that he'd have issues controlling his temper, his language, even his libido, but he's not, so ... I think -- in time, he will recover. That doesn't mean he won't have problems for awhile. I have to go. Katie can explain what to expect and how we will manage him."

She drew a painful breath and nodded. Suddenly, he seemed too young to care for Daniel. She forced herself to meet his brown eyes. "Can I see him?" she said.

"Just for a minute, we really need to get going."

"Thirty-five minutes," Nora mumbled.

His brow furrowed ."Excuse me?"

She palmed away a tear. "Since he arrived here, it's been thirty-five minutes. The Golden Hour. I need Addie and my mum."

Nora hardly felt Pete's arm supporting her when they walked in the exam room. Her knees buckled when she saw him. A thin film of oil glistened under eyelids taped closed.They had shaved his beautiful, mad hair, leaving him as bald as a chemo patient. One of his long, gentle hands bore the marks of someone's attempt to restart an IV, while another needle lay positioned just above his wrist. He had a separate line stuck in his other wrist. A nurse attached a syringe to it, letting it fill with bright red blood. Nora's eyes travelled the length of his naked upper torso, to see electrodes attached to his chest. They had shaved his thin chest hair. That'll itch when it grows back in, she thought.

Every twelve seconds the respirator. pumped in a breath, forcing his chest to rise silently. The sheet covered his lower body, but a bag filling with urine told her what they had done to his manhood. Only hours ago, that wonderfully joyous part of his anatomy had filled her with such intense pleasure. She gasped. "Steady," Pete whispered when he held her up. Nora's gaze continued down his left leg, encased in a splint to his now swollen toes. Three pillows piled underneath raised it above his heart. Funny, I never noticed the tiny bits of hair growing from the knuckles of his toes, she thought.

Her mother and Addie sobbed behind her. She reached behind her to squeeze the nearest hand in comfort. Her next breath came in time with Daniel's. The room was far from silent, yet silence roared in her ears. Voices peppered her with information. "Give me your tie, Pete," she said in a surprisingly calm, even and strong voice.

"Sorry -- what?"

She held her hand out and met his eyes. "Give. Me. Your. Tie, Do you remember the words for the ceremony?" she asked when the blood stained cloth was in her hand.

"What -- yeah, but -- why?"

"Mother, stop sniffling. It doesn't do anyone any good. Do you remember the words he taught you and Dad?"

Her mother huffed. "Yes, Love."

"Good," Nora answered, stepping around a nurse injecting Daniel's blood into a tube. Marcus waved the staff off. Nora gasped when she stepped next to him. Bruising extended under the large blood stained dressing on the side of his head. She lifted his hand. Tears stung when she glanced at Marcus. "He's cold."

"That's the effect of the cryo wrap. He doesn't feel it, I promise."

"Right," she nodded. She leaned down and kissed his slack jaw. "Hell of a way to have second thoughts. I know you wanted to go regimental, but this is a bit much. Won't do you any good, though, I have a plan. Addie?"

"Ja, Liebe?"

"Take the tie and wrap it around our hands." Startled, Addie nodded and gently draped the piece of silk around her hand and then Daniel's cold, limp hand. "Good, Mum -- you first."

"I consent and freely give my daughter, Nora May McGregor, to Daniel Ulysses Barrow until the end of time," she said, her voice quivering.

Pete didn't hesitate. Holding Jackie and Rose's hands, he repeated the oath. "I consent and freely give my adopted son, Daniel Ulysses Barrow, to Nora May McGregor until the end of the universe and time."

"Addie?" she said.

"This is the commitment of two children of the universe together--forever," her thickly accented voice quivered.

"Now," Nora whispered into his ear, "I already know your secret, here's mine." No one heard what she said. She kissed his cheek one last time, waited for Addie to remove the tie, and then stepped back. The medical team swept in, snapped up the rails and pushed his bed away. Nora turned, let out a strangled sob, and dropped to the floor. Pete held her in his arms as she wept.


End file.
